It is known in the art to provide formable decorative films of paint, and other materials such as clear coat, wood grain, ink, chromium, and other metals for use in forming the exterior surfaces of automotive vehicle panels. Presently, paint films are available having an under layer of pigmented paint with one or more over layers of clear coat, the multiple layers together having a thickness of about 0.0015 inches more or less as desired. The paint layers are supported by a carrier in the form of a nonformable plastic film, such as "Mylar" PET, polyethylene terephthalate polyester film, with a thickness of about 0.002 inches. Such a film, upon removal of the nonformable carrier layer, may be shaped by vacuum forming to a prescribed exterior configuration and then placed in a mold for injection molding of a substrate against the pigmented color coat layer of paint to form a plastic body panel or trim component of a desired shape. The injection molded panel is subsequently trimmed. The clear coat painted surface then forms the decorative exterior of the formed component.
To stiffen the decorative film for handling between formation of the film and injection molding or other processing, the carrier supported film may be laminated to a thin formable sheet of TPO, thermoplastic polyolefin, commonly 6 mil to 20 mil thickness (0.006 to 0.020 inches). The TPO is laminated to the color coat side of the decorative film, which is opposite from the PET carrier layer prior to its removal.
If desired the clear coat side of the decorative film may be protected from damage after removal of the nonformable carrier layer by applying, in any suitable manner, a removable protective film layer of thermoformable, stretchable, plastic material of suitable thickness, such as about 0.002 inches. This layer may remain in place during the subsequent forming process and thereafter as long as desired prior to removal, even up to the time of delivery of the product to an ultimate customer.
In accordance with a commonly assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/788,131, filed Jan. 24, 1997, the multi-layer film, with or without the thin sheet of TPO, may be laminated to a thick wall thermoplastic sheet of TPO (0.065-0.3 inches thick). The resulting decorative sheet may be compression formed, or compression/vacuum formed, to make a structural or trim panel or component for vehicle bodies or other uses.